A Madras High Court lawyer on Tuesday helped nab a scamster pretending to hold several important posts in the CBI, Interpol and the Prime Minister’s Office. 33-year-old Prasad, the accused, was trying to use his ‘position’ to escape from an accident scene, when he was exposed.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) in TNM’s possession, Prasad was travelling in an Audi car within the court premises when his driver crashed into a two-wheeler, injuring the lawyer riding it. After the accident victim was picked by an ambulance, advocate Anand along with other lawyers began questioning Prasad. He immediately claimed that he was an Assistant Commissioner at the Prime Minister’s Office. The front of his car, however, had stickers claiming he was in the CBI, the Interpol and the Airport Authority of India. When the lawyers questioned him further, they found his answers unconvincing.
The lawyer then took Prasad to the nearest police station and ask that action be taken against him and his driver. An FIR was then filed and Prasad and his driver Mohana Vel were booked under multiple sections – Section 176 (Omission to give notice or information to public servant by person legally bound to give it), 419 (Punishment for cheating by personation), 463 (Forgery), 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal code.
An intelligence official told TNM that Prasad has been arrested and remanded.
“He was using all these fake identification cards to cheat people. He was basically conducting panchayats in the name of being a highly placed official. He will promise to solve issues and cheat them of money,” he explains.
According to reports, Prasad had completed a B.Tech degree and was employed in an air ticketing agency in Chennai. He is a resident of T Nagar and Esplanade police detained him for inquiry.
In a video from the incident where lawyers are questioning Prasad, they can be heard saying that the photo on his PMO identification card does not match his face. They then demand that he show them valid identification proof like his Aadhaar card to which he gives no answers.
Source: The News Minute